Ultra Hardcore: Murder Mystery
by ShutUpBrick
Summary: A fanfic about a murder mystery revolving around the UHC community and UBL committee.
1. The Committee Meeting

The man hurriedly hung up his coat and moved swiftly to the table, tossing down a pile of papers before the multitude of others. "Sorry I'm late," he breathed, adjusting his tie with blue hands. "There were quite a few more issues than I expected."

Walden reached for the documents and quickly scanned the pages with mild interest. "Wow, Brick," he mused. "Only seven more Awalk alts? Are you sure you're doing your job?"

Brick nervously took a seat next to TG, who gave him a reassuring look through his helmet. "Don't worry, our host hasn't even showed yet." Brick visibly relaxed, and took a headcount of everyone who had showed up to the meeting. It seemed not even half the committee was present.

Almost immediately after Brick sat down, a tense silence fell upon the room. It was now apparent that only some of the committee was required to attend the meeting, and everyone was visibly worried to an extent. Eesti was nervously fidgeting with his sunglasses and frowning. Sep was absentmindedly petting his recently cut black hair. Sid wasn't giving any compliments, or even smiling. Spork sat unmoving, staring straight ahead, clearly experiencing a fairly serious lag spike brought on by nerves. "Why just us seven?" Brick wondered aloud.

"It's the lucky number after all," a smooth voice floated over from the doorway, cutting the tension like a hot knife to butter. Brick jumped slightly in his seat. He felt an aura of grandeur before he glanced up, and when he did, his eyes fell upon their host.

Climb's parted ginger hair glowed bravely in the dim lighting as he strode across the room. His regal, white outfit shined with a recent cleaning, and his blue eyes danced lightheartedly with every step. "Nice to see everyone I invited showed up," he observed coolly as he took a seat at the head of the table.

"Nice of you to arrive on time," Eesti muttered through a yawn, desensitized to Climb's theatrical entrances. "Mind telling us what this is all about?"

"I'll get straight to the point," Climb began, his expression hardening immediately—a change quick enough to frighten anyone. "I've been monitoring each and every one of you for a while now." He took a moment to meet everyone's eyes individually. Brick sank a bit in his chair. "I've been noticing certain performance patterns in all of you. Unfortunately, I've had to come to a few decisions." At the last sentence, everyone in the room began to exchange glances uneasily. "I'll be throwing you guys a party," he finished.

A familiar silence suddenly overtook the room again. "Sorry, what?" Sep chimed after a few moments. Climb glanced around at everyone once more, and was met with an expression more confused than the last each time.

"A party," he repeated. "I'm throwing you guys a party for your success over the last few weeks. You guys have been doing a great job, and I figured the least I could do for you was celebrate that fact." The message finally processed in everyone's mind. Relieved laughs and smiles of excitement quickly became dominant, and the mood in the room lit up instantaneously. Sid began pouring out compliments about how nice everyone looked. Climb waited a few moments for everyone to settle down before he continued.

"The party will be this Saturday at La'Quishra hall. 8 o'clock sharp. It wouldn't be a party with just us eight, which is why I'm allowing everyone to bring two guests. You can bring a date and a friend, two friends—whatever. Two dates, if you're feeling adventurous," he added.

"Who're you bringing?" Walden nudged Brick, who shrugged.

"I don't know. I have a lot of scripting to do, and a ton of player reports I need to go through still. Maybe I should sit this one out." Brick was met with an incredulous stare from Walden. "Okay, you're right," he conceded. "I'll go. I don't know who to bring, though."

Spork sat up suddenly, looking around in distress. "Brick? Climb? How long have you guys been here?"

Everyone shared many laughs, and one by one, they all returned home, thoughts turning to the party. Brick lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling, trying to narrow down his list to just two people that he could invite. Every other invitee was experiencing the same dilemma, except for one.

If only the committee members knew of the plan that one of them was already formulating.


	2. The Party

"I can't believe you convinced me to come to this."

"Come on Crimson, you love parties."

"Parties are for girls."

"Your mom's a girl."

"No she's not."

A blue sheep stepped between the bickerers, balancing a plate of appetizers on one hoof. "Crimmy, Brickles, come on now," he slurred, mouth filled to its limit. "We're here to celebrate! Enjoy the food, have a drink—meet some people."

"I know literally everyone in this room," Crimson retorted. As Brick observed his surroundings, he found himself nodding in agreement. The hall was relatively crowded, with groups of people all gathering in hotspots around the room. Some danced, some dined, some stood around mingling as they did—but as Brick scanned the faces, he found himself recognizing everyone he saw from somewhere around the Ultra Hardcore community.

Scottish sighed. "Come on Brickles, you invited us. I don't how much fun I can have if you aren't enjoying yourself too."

"I guess you're right," Brick exhaled. "Guess I just don't like being around a lot of people."

Scottish winked at him and put a hoof around his shoulder. "Come on, I'll show you how to party." After a step forward, the sheep tripped, spilling the plate and its contents with a loud crash. "Go on without me," he breathed as he lay on the floor. "It's more comfortable down here anyway."

"Brilliant," Crimson muttered, walking off and mumbling something about Scottish pride. Brick turned to follow him and immediately bumped into another body. As he began to apologize profusely, he realized he'd come into contact with Walden—and the McGillis family.

"Hi Brick," Walden greeted, readjusting his red hat after the collision. "Meet my older brothers, Wade and Waylan." Brick smiled and greeted them. Despite their age differences, the brothers all looked nearly identical, and he was uncomfortable with the thought that he might mix them up.

After talking for a few moments about Typhlosis, Brick found an excuse to wander over to the window. As he looked out at the setting sun, he noticed a situation in the parking lot just below. Two people stood outside a vehicle, pounding on the driver's side door shouting something. As he looked closer, Brick recognized Glitchy and Vi. Suddenly, as if he teleported, Spork appeared outside the vehicle, looking around in apparent bewilderment before snapping in such a loud, frustrated voice that Brick could hear it from inside. "Zimbabwe net!"

Brick felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to meet Sep, with two other guys at his side. One wore a full body robe that covered all but his face, revealing a jagged scar down his right eye. The other guest donned a classy suit and a pig mask over his face. Sep greeted him with his deep, monotonous voice. "Hey Shu. What are you doing over here?"

"I don't know either, to be honest," Brick laughed.

"So, you know Boyce and Shadowlego, right?" Before Brick could answer, a voice called for Sep from across the room. Before hurrying off, Sep apologized, and lightly kissed both guests on the cheek.

"Oh, you guys are his—uh," Brick trailed off as the two stared at him blankly. "You know what, I have something important to do. Over there," he clarified, nodding in a random direction. "See you guys later."

To his despair, Brick realized he'd pointed where everyone was dancing, and despite his reluctance, knew he must commit. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself over to the crowd. As he approached, he noticed TG and MG engaged in a waltz, with TG's apparent second guest, Xero, standing close by, filming them and laughing. Scottish, still traces of food on his fur, danced clumsily with Stollaz, both singing drunkenly. Sid hovered nearby, talking with the much shorter Wingnut and occasionally nodding at Stollaz with a disapproving expression. Eesti sat lazily in a chair, his eyes hidden by his dark glasses. After glancing around, Brick couldn't seem to find anyone that Eesti might have brought as a guest.

Brick decided to make small talk with Wingnut and Sid, but wasn't really paying attention. He couldn't help but wonder where Climb was. Even if he was normally fashionably late, this was a bit extreme. The guests decided to start the party informally an hour ago, but were still waiting for the opening words by the host.

Suddenly, the loud noise of shattering glass echoed through the halls, and the room turned pitch black with darkness. A fervent, unintelligible whispering rose up throughout the room. Brick heard Wingnut, still standing within a few feet from him. "The power..."

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the ears of everyone in the hall, and the panicked whispering died instantly. Slowly, the lights began to flicker on. Brick blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the situation. The glass of the window nearest to him was now spread across the room, and as he followed the shattered pieces with his eye, he noticed a sickening shade of red beginning to permeate through the wooden planks of the floor. Strewn in with the shards of glasses was a handheld camera, the lens shattered.

A woman's scream broke the terrified silence.

Lying in the middle of the hall was Xero.


	3. The Accusations

Brick's eyes were glued to the horrifying scene in front of him. An arrow protruded from Xero's body, the back of it pointing in the direction of the shattered window. MG's scream had transformed into a long quiet whimper, and a panicked mumbling began to rise up in the crowd of people that had gathered around Xero.

Sid rushed forward and bent down, checking for a pulse. After a moment, he turned back to the crowd and swallowed. "He's dead."

A commotion suddenly came from the foyer, and Brick turned to see a group of people entering the room. Spork, Glitchy, and Vi, along with Crimson, rushed in.

"I'm calling 911," Sid pulled out his phone and gasped. "My battery's dead. I know I charged it just last night."

"Let me try," Sep suggested, "I took mine off the charger just before leaving." He pushed Shadow and Boyce away for a moment and took out his phone. He stared at the screen in disbelief and cursed. "Mine's dead too."

"Is anyone's phone working?" Sid called. One by one, everyone confirmed their phones to be dead, including Brick, though his was dying before he'd departed. Sid turned to the group of new arrivals at the doorway. "You guys were outside. Did you see anything?"

They all shook their heads at once, and Glitchy spoke. "We were just now on our way inside. We were waiting for Spork's net to catch up. When we heard the scream, we broke into a run." Vi, clearly under the influence of some sort of drug, just stood and nodded rapidly in agreement, wide-eyed.

Walden spoke up suddenly. "What about you, Crimson? What's your excuse for being outside?" One by one, every head in the room turned to face him, and he backed up against the wall.

"You've always had good aim with a bow," Boyce added slowly.

"Do you honestly think I did this?" Crimson snapped.

"Stop," Brick raised his voice. "It's dangerous to throw accusations around like that."

Walden turned to Brick. "Well, someone outside did it. And they're probably going to kill us too!"

"That doesn't automatically make it one of us!" Brick retorted, heart racing.

The otherwise quiet TG made a sudden declaration. "I think we should all go outside to investigate," he continued. "If we all go at once, we can overpower whoever is outside. If it's one of us, they won't attack if we're all in a group."

"It's dark outside," Eesti argued. "It wouldn't be hard for us to be picked off." He added, "In fact, maybe that's your plan."

Everyone's attention was drawn to the back of the crowd where Eesti was standing. "What are you trying to imply?" TG said in a dangerously quiet voice.

Eesti removed his sunglasses and looked directly at him. "I don't know. Maybe you were tired of Xero not respecting you and your girl's personal space."

Sid grabbed TG as he attempted to lunge at the speaker. "That's enough!" Sid barked. "As Brick said, accusations are dangerous. We need to work together if we want to get out of here alive, and blaming people without reason is only going to cause pointless fighting."

"Wait," Sep realized slowly. "Someone is missing. Everyone, look around. See if both of your dates—uh, friends—are here." Everyone began searching desperately for their friends. Brick spotted Scottish leaning against the wall, staring wide-eyed at Xero's body and baying quietly. Crimson still stood near the entrance.

"Stollaz," Wingnut whispered. "Where's Stollaz?"

Sid's face dropped. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since the power went out."

As if on cue, the room went black suddenly once more, and frightened whispers and shouts echoed through the room. Suddenly, Brick felt someone shove past him with force, and he lost balance, slamming into the ground. On the floor, he suddenly heard a loud shattering, followed by a grunt and a blunt crash. Someone screamed. Brick felt the vibrations of heavy, hurried footsteps on the floorboards, and as he attempted to process the events that just occurred, the lights flashed back on.

An ear piercing wail met Brick's already ringing ears. While he struggled to sit up and focus his vision, he saw blurry people already gathering around him with terrified expressions. In his shock, he thought for a moment he must have been the victim of the attack, until he turned his head and saw the body laying beside him.

TG's helmet was smashed in, and on his first and only voluntary glance, Brick saw a pool of blood forming inside it like a bowl.


	4. The Reveal

"Alright, everyone, don't panic," Sid pleaded as chaos erupted through the room. MG lay over TG's body, her terrible screams overwhelming all other sound. Brick made an effort to stand, but quickly found himself on the floor once more. He could barely focus on the current situation, and began to zone out entirely. He decided to pretend he was back at the party, where everything was normal, and he began to worry about a piece of fuzz on his dress pants. As he absentmindedly tried to brush it off, he began to hear a voice, and did his best to ignore it. He snapped back to reality instantly when he felt someone shaking him.

"Brick, you were nearest to him," Sid enunciated, as if he had already asked this question several times. "Did you see anything?" Brick shook his head slowly. "Good enough for me," Sid sighed.

Sid began to comfort MG, and the turmoil soon took the form of panicked whispers amongst the party goers. Brick finally found the power to stand, making sure to focus his vision anywhere but the floor beside him as he rose. He turned his head to see the scar-faced Shadowlego standing beside him, his face a paler white than quartz. Brick thought he heard him whisper something inaudible, and he leaned forward for him to repeat.

"Sep isn't here," Shadowlego mumbled, glancing around the room with desperate, wild eyes that didn't match his otherwise hardened expression.

Suddenly, an unmistakable scream was heard from the back of the building. "Stollaz," Sid's face paled. He stood and broke into a run in one sweeping movement. The crowd of people followed behind him quickly, with the exception of MG, who lay weeping beside TG, and Spork, who still stood at the entrance of the building staring straight ahead. The sound seemed to originate from the back room, and Brick thought he'd never make it there on legs that felt like gelatin. As they entered the room, everyone gasped one by one.

The bodies of Stollaz and Eesti lay in the middle of the floor, with Sep sitting in the middle breathing heavily, holding his bleeding arm. Stollaz was impaled on a splintered chair leg, and Eesti lay next to him, a shard of glass embedded in his throat.

Sid rushed to Stollaz and looked for any signs of life, desperately, repeating his name over and over again, but everyone knew it was no use. His lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling, the smell of alcohol still evident in the air.

Sep was sputtering something incomprehensible, and Shadowlego and Boyce rushed to his side, comforting him. Sid finally stood up, turning to face Sep. Even from just seeing the profile of his face, Brick could tell Sid had been crying, his eyes red and puffy. "Tell us what happened," he requested slowly, drained of emotion.

"It was Eesti," Sep breathed. "It was Eesti all along." He waited for all the reactions to calm down before he continued.

"After the lights went out the second time, I tried to rush to the switch. I saw where it was after the first time the lights went out. When I was almost there, though, the lights turned back on, and there Eesti was, standing at the switch. But something about his expression just seemed off. He didn't seem scared at all. I saw him holding something in his hand that glinted, but I was too afraid to look closer. I felt uneasy, and I tried to say something, but everyone was too busy reacting to whatever just happened. He grabbed me, covered my mouth, and put a piece of glass against my throat.

"He dragged me into this room where Stollaz was laying unconscious, and told me his whole plan. He said he pretended to not bring anyone, when in reality, he did bring a guest, who was waiting outside with a bow the whole time. Their plan was to break the window, shoot and kill TG, and turn off the power at the same time to confuse everyone. But the power went off too early, and he missed, hitting Xero.

"Eesti said that he improvised by turning the lights out a second time, and he took the job into his own hands. He used a piece of glass to stab through TG's helmet, and then ran over to the light, where he saw me, and dragged me in here. I guess Stollaz passed out drunk in this room sometime earlier.

"While he was telling me this story, he didn't notice that Stollaz woke up. Stollaz broke a chair over his head, and Eesti dropped the glass, which cut my arm when it fell. As he grabbed the broken leg and stabbed Stollaz with it, I grabbed the glass, and…you know the rest."

Everyone's jaws had fallen and eyes had widened as the story unfolded before them, and it all began to make sense. "No wonder he was trying to blame TG," Walden observed after Sep finished. "He knew that if we followed TG's idea, his plan would have failed."

Sid sighed. "At least it's all over now." Murmurs of agreement were heard throughout the room, and one by one, people began to file out of the room, not wanting to view the scene any longer. Sid promised to return with something for Sep's cut, and a few volunteered to go find someone to call the police. Brick stood stationary, a feeling of numbness overtaking him. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, and turned to see Scottish giving him a reassuring look.

Brick shuddered. "I just can't believe any of this."

Glitchy, who also remained, staring distantly out the window, nodded. "One minute Xero was laughing, filming TG and MG, and the next moment, he's just…gone."

The other three in the room all agreed solemnly for a moment, before Brick came to a sudden realization. "You were outside, Glitchy," Brick said.

Glitchy turned to him. "What's that?"

"You were outside during the dance. How did you," his voice failed him for a moment, and he uttered the next part quickly. "How did you know what they were doing?"

Glitchy's face remained blank as he stared at Brick's bewildered expression. "Well, it seems I've made a mistake." Brick felt the arm around his shoulder tighten its grasp, and to his horror, he found he could no longer move. He turned to Scottish to protest, and saw the sheep wearing a look of pity.

"I'm sorry Brick. You weren't meant to get caught up in this." Scottish's voice leaked with remorse.

Brick turned to Sep for support, but as he did, he noticed the victim was now on his feet, just inches from Brick.

He was holding a bloodied piece of glass against Brick's chest.

"You always were a good friend to me, Brick. I suppose we owe you an explanation before we kill you."


	5. The Door

"I suppose we'll start from the beginning," Sep continued. "After all, I'm sure you won't complain about living longer."

Glitchy moved to the door and closed it carefully. "Don't even think about screaming, or you won't get to hear the full story." He approached Brick and whispered coldly in his ear. "And that would be a shame, wouldn't it?"

Brick nodded slowly and swallowed as Sep began.

"To put it simply, you can blame TG for all your dead friends, and your approaching death. If he'd just kept quiet, the party would have never happened, no one would have ever died, and we could have gone on as a happy committee and community without any death needing to take place.

"Unfortunately, it's not in TG's nature to stay out of other people's business. From the moment I joined the committee, he knew I was up to something. He could tell I had plans, other motives—dangerous ideas. TG didn't like that, but he was aware that telling anyone about his suspicions would get him nowhere without proof.

"I had finally begun to make progress on getting him off my back, or at least I thought I had, when I found a folder on my desk. It was a portfolio of all suspicious activity TG had collected of me—videos, chat logs, and pictures. He was taunting me. I couldn't have him revealing my big plans early. After all, that would ruin all the work I've been putting into them!

"As for my big plans? Without going into much detail and straying from the main point too much, let's just say the committee and community would be looking up to me once I succeeded. I would hold all the power. I could tell by TG's research that he was uncomfortably close to revealing the truth, so I had to come up with a plan. I needed TG out of the picture.

"So after all our work with the courtroom and what not, I began to get on Climb's good side and become close friends with him, all for one reason. It was I who suggested the party to him. You know, for such a smart guy, Climb was so easy to manipulate into doing what I wanted him to do.

"My plan, as you know by now, was to kill TG at the party. I knew, however, that I would not be able to do it alone if I wanted to avoid being caught, so I searched for other guests to help. I knew Fork would be bringing Glitchy, and I also knew he wouldn't be hard to convince. I can sense another sociopath when I see one."

Brick glanced over at Glitchy, who smiled icily back at him, and spoke. "As for Scottish? Well, he, too, happily agreed, after a bit of—" Brick turned his head as far as he could, trying to meet Scottish's eyes, but the sheep's gaze was glued to the floor. Sep pushed the glass slightly harder against Brick's chest. "—creative convincing," Glitchy finished coolly.

Sep continued. "There was, at one point, a minor inconvenience. Climb texted me, saying that the party had to be delayed a few hours, as he'd been caught up in something. This would throw my entire plan off, and I couldn't have anyone else knowing about this. We went around and socialized with everyone, and one by one, we asked to see everyone's phones—to look at a picture, or Google something. Each time, when they weren't looking, we then removed the battery. Everyone was so tipsy, no one even seem to notice. Of course, Scottish saw that your phone was already dead, so there was no reason to take the risk with you. The original idea wasn't to stop people calling the police, though it worked out in our favor in the end.

"Now for the original plan. Glitchy would be stationed outside with the bow, using Fork's lag as an excuse not to be in the building when the attack occurred. I would turn off the lights. And Scottish would be the middleman, signaling to me and then to Glitchy so we could do our jobs on time."

Scottish sighed. "It didn't work out that way." The sheep continued quietly, "I was dancing with Stollaz, pretending to be drunk as cover, when I noticed TG was in the right place. I signaled to Sep that it was time. But when I turned to signal Glitchy, Stollaz still had a hold of me. I had to knock him upside the head with a hoof to break free, and was able to give Glitchy the cue.

"But everything had been messed everything up. I couldn't have him laying there passed out with a hoof mark on his head. I began to drag him to the back room when the lights shut off. I heard the window shatter, and someone hit the floor just as I had shoved Stollaz into the back room. I began to head back to the hall, and as far as I knew at this point, everything had gone to plan so far."

Glitchy turned and placed a hand on Brick's shoulder. "Scottish was terribly wrong, unfortunately. On Scottish's signal, I aimed my bow. It was easy not to be seen by my friends, with how laggy Fork was and how stoned Vi was. Just as I was about to fire, the power went out. Maybe it was a poor decision on my part, but I decided to fire anyway, thinking TG couldn't have moved much in that small time frame."

Sep chuckled. "You can imagine the surprise on all our faces when I turned on the lights and we saw Xero's body on the floor, and not TG's. I looked over at Scottish, nodded towards TG, and approached the light again while everyone argued and panicked."

Glitchy picked up the story. "We had to improvise. Scottish was close to TG and the shattered window, and when Sep cut the lights again, he knew what he had to do. He grabbed a shard of glass off the floor and stabbed TG."

Brick recalled being knocked down just before TG's death. He glanced down at the blue fuzz on his pants that he'd noticed earlier, and he shivered. Sep met his eyes once more, wearing a look of mock sorrow.

"Unfortunately," Sep exhaled, "just when we thought we were done, things continued to go wrong for us. As I brought back the lights once more, Eesti was standing right there, staring directly at me, with this look in his eyes. I knew he suspected me. One could say that my portrayal of the victim earlier was the exact opposite of what happened: I grabbed Eesti, made sure he couldn't scream, picked up a piece of glass, and dragged him into a back room while everyone was distracted with you and TG.

"He managed to overpower me for a moment, and in the struggle, I was cut by my own glass, and an innocent chair was broken into pieces. It wasn't long before I impaled the shard through his neck, and, thinking everything was done, I relaxed for a moment.

"Then an ear-piercing scream met my ears, and I turned to see a conscious Stollaz staring at me, wide-eyed. He'd seen everything, and I knew everyone was about to come running. I couldn't risk him being alive. I quickly grabbed a leg from the chair pieces and stabbed him. When I heard the footsteps approaching, I quickly fell on the ground, clutching my arm, and put on a frightened face. And of course, you know the rest."

The sick feeling developing in Brick's stomach as the story unfolded reached a climax, and black dots began to cloud his vision. "Your guests," he mumbled. "Did they know?"

Sep laughed. "Oh, Boyce and Shadowlego? Clueless. They were only brought as cover. I knew it might look suspicious if I didn't bring any guests. I actually used that to my advantage when I blamed Eesti for the attacks."

Brick just shook his head. "You're not going to get away with this."

Suddenly, the unmistakable squeak of door hinges came from behind Brick, and he felt himself being whipped around. Scottish adjusted his hold on him, using both arms in an apparent embrace, and Brick felt Sep push the shard of glass against his back.

Sid entered the room, holding a first-aid kit. "Hey guys, everything okay in here?" As Brick opened his mouth, he felt the glass begin to dig into him, and he fell silent.

"Brick's a bit shaken up," Glitchy sighed.

Sid nodded solemnly, studying Brick's face. He stared back at him, pleading that he would see something was wrong. "It's been hard on all of us." Sid said as he turned to Sep, holding up the kit. "I brought this. Do you need help fixing up that cut, or do you think you guys can do it?"

Glitchy smiled warmly at Sid and took the kit from his hands. "We'll take care of it. Others might need your help."

"Thanks," Sid sighed with relief. "MG is a wreck, so I'm going to try to comfort her. Let me know if you need anything."

Brick's heart sunk as his last hope turned and walked out of the room. Brick knew that the door wasn't the only thing shutting with Sid's departure. Behind him, he heard Sep and Glitchy begin to laugh nervously.

"Okay," Sep breathed. "Now it's time for you to help us kill you."


End file.
